ISSUE NO. 110 (Jan. - Mar.

2014)

Engineering Bulletin #102

front cover

LEMBAGA MINYAK SAWIT MALAYSIA

MALAYSIAN PALMPALM
OIL BOARD
OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 110 1
KEMENTERIAN PERUSAHAAN PERLADANGAN DAN KOMODITI MALAYSIA
MINISTRY OF PLANTATION INDUSTRIES AND COMMODITIES, MALAYSIA
Website: www.mpob.gov.my
 Editorial

T
CONTENTS

Editorial
1
he millers are often tempted to
recover residue oil in empty fruit
TRAINING AND SEMINARS
bunches (EFB). The recovery sys-
MPOB Training Programme 2014 9
tem adopted to recover the residual oils is
MPOB Conferences and Seminars 2014 10 by no means simple, or the recovered oil,
a commodity of desirable value. The resid-
FEATURE ARTICLES ual oil, classified as sludge oil, commands
Glimpses of Occupational and Health Act 1994 half the value of crude palm oil. Now, the
(OSHA) Part 1: Permit to Work - A Must 11 question is whether it is worthwhile to go
through such a Herculean effort to earn dis-
Lubrication Management for Reduced proportionate returns. Despite such efforts,
Contamination and Increased Productivity 15 the industry is still struggling to maintain
Declining Trends in Oil Extraction Rate (OER): its normal throughputs. No doubt, the ef-
Are We Facing an Impasse? 19 forts put in are commendable for a good
cause but they are not applied in a place
DATASHEET where it can produce results. The correct
Ready Reckoner for Engineers 35 approach to raise the productivity of the in-
dustry is to understand that the oil palm
fruits after reaching the mill cannot synthe-
sise any more oil than what is within and it
is unlikely residue oil loss can be reduced
to zero.

The first criterion for achieving the target

EDITORIAL BOARD of increasing the oil extraction rate (OER) is
to improve the quality of the crop. The ferti-
Chairperson liser application at the right frequency and
Datuk Dr Choo Yuen May quantity will ensure that the mesocarp of
Members the fruit is well developed. The OER is re-
Dr Lim Weng Soon lated to the mesocarp thickness of the fruits
Ab Aziz Md Yusof in the bunch.
Secretary
Ir N Ravi Menon The OER of a mill can increase signifi-
cantly if the plantation can improve loose
Malaysian Palm Oil Board fruit collection as loose fruits, being the
Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities, outer fruits, contains maximum oil com-
Malaysia
6 Persiaran Institusi, Bandar Baru Bangi, pared to the inner fruits.
43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia.
Tel: 603-8769 4400 The third important factor is loose fruits
Fax: 603-8925 9446 collection. The majority of the plantations
Website: www.mpob.gov.my
are facing difficulties in delivering even
© Malaysian Palm Oil Board, 2014 4% of loose fruits due to many reasons, the
All rights reserved. foremost of which is labour shortage. Set-
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a ting high targets of yield and OER will not
retrieval system, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, with- help to accomplish them unless it is sup-
out the prior written permission of the publisher. ported by the required labour force.

Products and services advertised in this Another factor, although not so wide-
Palm Oil Engineering Bulletin do not
connote endorsement by MPOB. spread is the rodents which consume con-

see page 2

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 110 1

 from page 1
siderable quantity of fruit mesocarp. The
damaged fruits could easily be 10%! It needs
positive effort on the part of the plantation
management to maintain control over well-
known pests. An enhanced system of pest
control is necessary, otherwise causing fur-
ther reduction in mill OER.
The fifth factor is stones and trash accom-
panying the crop. This will not only affect the
OER adversely but will also cause extensive
damage to the mill machinery. The iron that
goes into the crude palm oil should be re-
duced to prevent oxidation of the oil.
Some sections of the industry blame the
fruit dealers for the poor quality of the crop
but they should not be the only ones to take
the blame. These issues can be ironed out
amicably with serious commitment from
every quarter of the industry.

CALL FOR ARTICLES

Personnel of the palm oil mills are invited to send in articles of relevance to the palm oil industry in
Malaysia for publication in Palm Oil Engineering Bulletin. By sharing your expertise you will be
helping the industry and the nation as a whole. The topics of interest are:

1. Plant modifications done in your mill that resulted in improvements in milling operation or main-
tenance.

2. Innovations done in your mill that produced improvements in the operation of the mill and that
you are willing to share them with others.

3. Any special work done in your mill that directly resulted in improvements in OER and product
quality.

Please submit your article to us and we shall be pleased to publish them in Palm Oil Engineering
Bulletin. Feel proud to have your articles published in this Bulletin that is circulated throughout the
industry and MPOB offices worldwide.

2
PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 110
Training & Seminars

MPOB TRAINING PROGRAMME 2014

Code
Title Date Venue
No.
A COURSES
1 OIL PALM
A1.1 Kursus Kemahiran Menggred
Buah Sawit
Bil. 1: Wilayah Sabah 15 – 17 Apr Hotel Pavilion, Sandakan,
Sabah
Bil. 2: Wilayah Timur 6 – 8 Mei Hotel Prinz Park,
Kuala Terengganu, Terengganu
Bil. 3: Wilayah Selatan 9 – 11 Jun Hotel Desaru, Kota Tinggi,
Johor
Bil. 4: Wilayah Sarawak 17 – 19 Jun *
Bil. 5: Wilayah Tengah 25 – 27 Jun Hotel Puteri Resort, Melaka
Bil. 6: Wilayah Utara 26 – 28 Ogos Hotel Grand Court, Teluk Intan,
Perak
Peperiksaan Bil. 17 (Semenanjung) 30 Okt *
Peperiksaan Bil. 16 (Sabah) 26 Nov *
A1.2 Intensive Diploma in Oil Palm
Management and Technology
(IDOPMT)
Semester 1 3 – 20 Mar
Estate Attachment 24 – 28 Mar
Semester 2 31 Mar – 24 Apr MPOB HQ
Estate Attachment 27 Apr – 3 May
Semester 3 5 – 29 May
A1.3 Kursus Operator Mekanisasi
Ladang (KOML)
Tahap 1 dan 2 Mac (5 bulan) PLASMA Keratong, Pahang
Tahap 1 dan 2 Sep (5 bulan) PLASMA Keratong, Pahang
A1.4 Kursus Pengurusan dan
Penyelenggaraan Nurseri Sawit
Bil. 1: Wilayah Sabah 6 – 7 Apr Hotel Embi, Tawau, Sabah
Bil. 2: Wilayah Sarawak 21 – 22 Mei Hotel Dorset, Kuching, Sarawak
Bil. 3: Wilayah Timur/Selatan 3 – 4 Jun Hotel Prime City, Kluang, Johor
Bil. 4: Wilayah Utara 9 – 10 Sep Hotel Ritz Garden, Setiawan,
Perak
Bil. 5: Wilayah Tengah 14 – 15 Okt Hotel Gold Coast, Sepang,
Selangor

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 110 9

 Training & Seminars

2 PALM OIL
A2.1 Diploma in Palm Oil Milling
Technology & Management (DIPOM)
Semester I 10 – 19 Mar
Semester II 19 – 28 May
PLASMA Lahad Datu, Sabah
Semester III 11 – 20 Aug
Examination 29 – 30 Sep
A2.2 Cosmetic Course 5 – 9 May MPOB HQ
th
A2.3 The 28 MPOB Oil Palm Products 23 – 27 Jul *
Surveying Course

The 27th MPOB Oil Palm Products

Surveying Examination Oct* *
A2.4 Kursus Penyelia Kilang Minyak Sawit 22 – 26 Sep MPOB HQ

Peperiksaan 24 Nov *
A2.5 Kursus Pengendali Makmal Kilang
Minyak Sawit 18 – 28 Ogos PLASMA Lahad Datu, Sabah

A2.6 Kursus Penyelia Bengkel Kilang Sawit 13 – 17 Okt PLASMA Lahad Datu, Sabah
A2.7 Kursus Drebar Enjin 3 – 6 Nov MPOB HQ
B MPOB CONFERENCES AND SEMINARS
1 PAC Seminar 10 Apr MPOB HQ
2 Palm Industry Labour: Issues, Performance 9 Jun
and Sustainability Seminar (PILIPS) 2014 Pullman Kuching, Sarawak

3 TOT Seminar 18 Jun MPOB HQ

4 GSAS Seminar 19 Jun MPOB HQ
5 Persidangan Kebangsaan Pekebun Kecil 12 – 13 Ogos
RH Hotel, Sibu, Sarawak
Sawit 2014
6 2014 National Seminar on Palm Oil Mill- 3 – 4 Nov
Pullman Kuching, Sarawak
ing, Refining and Quality (POMREQ)
7 Seminar on Oil Palm Mechanisation 24 – 26 Nov
MPOB HQ
(PalmMech) 2014
8 MPOB- Industry Forum * *

Note: *To be confirmed.

For enquiry or further information, please contact:

HRD & Conference Management Unit

Tel. No. : 03-8769 4400 ext. 4865, 4860, 4867
Fax No. : 03-8925 7549
E-mail : rubaah@mpob.gov.my
MPOB’s website : www.mpob.gov.my

All information are correct as at press time.

10
PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 110
Feature Article
Glimpses of Occupational and Health
Act 1994 (OSHA)
Part 1: Permit to Work - A Must
N Ravi Menon*
T
INTRODUCTION
he current Occupational Safety and
Health Act or OSHA 1994 is com-
pletely different from its precursor,
the Factory and Machinery Act 1967 (FMA)
it replaced. While the FMA was prescrip-
tive, limited and government depended, the
OSHA 1994 is based on self-regulation, con-
sultation and workers’ co-operation with
a broad range of worker’s population. The
philosophy and the guiding principles are
summarised by Lord Alfred Robens as the
responsibilities to ensure safety and health
at the work place lies with those who create
the risk and those who work with the risks.
The people who are involved in ensur-
ing the welfare of the workers should make
sincere efforts to make any work place a
safe haven to work. Unfortunately in real-
ity, this does not seem to be the case, due to
lack of concern by the management, as well
as the employees for the safety of workers
in work places. It is not even necessary for
* Malaysian Palm Oil Board,
6 Persiaran Institusi, Bandar Baru Bangi,
43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia.
E-mail: nravi@mpob.gov.my
PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 110
the government to pass an Act for ensuring
the safety and health of workers if the em-
ployers are considerate towards their work-
ers and undertake measures to ensure their
welfare. The need for a legislation for every
aspect of interaction between employer and
employees indicates that there is room for
improvement in mutual relationship be-
tween employers and employees.
The Act is applicable in all economic ac-
tivities specified under the first schedule:
• manufacturing;
• mining and quarry;
• construction;
• agriculture, forestry and fishing;
• utilities: electricity, gas, water and
sanitary service;
• transport, storage and communica-
tion;
• wholesale and retail traders;
• hotel and restaurant;
• finance, insurance, real estate busi-
ness services; and
• public services and statutory author-
ities.
However, onboard ships are excluded as
it is governed by Merchant Shipping Ordi-
nances 1952 for Peninsular and 1960 for Sa-
bah and Sarawak, and Armed Forces.
11
 Feature Article
GENERAL
The employers and self-employed persons
‘so far as applicable’ should under Section
15(2) (a) of the OSHA 1967 Act provide and
maintain safe plant and system of work
without risk to health.
The dust particles in the kernel station
can be considered to be detrimental to the
health of workers. Now the question arises
as to what extent the clause ‘as far as prac-
ticable’ can be applied. It is certainly pos-
sible to reduce the impact of excessive dust
particles by using masks or by trapping the
dust particles in bags through an induced
draft fan, as this can be taken up under, ‘as
far as practicable’. If the cost is not prohibi-
tive, the mill management should strive to
remove the dust from the kernel station, as
the dust can be hazardous to health. If the
cost is prohibitive with the available sys-
tems it is always possible to find a cheaper
alternative like face masks.
PERMIT TO WORK
The maintenance work carried out in palm
oil mill conveyors such as screw convey-
ors is carried out with insufficient attention
given for the safety of the workers. When
work is carried out there are instance of
conveyors being switched on. This arises
DISCONNECTED
Figure 1. One-door steriliser cages linked together - one link has broken loose.
12
PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 110
due the absence of safety precautions like
electrical and mechanical isolations of the
plant, hanging danger boards on starters
and removal of fuses. In palm oil mills such
a system does not exist despite the number
of accidents. It is high time such a system is
in force.
It is not uncommon for workers to enter
sterilisers to hook back the short chains that
connect two steriliser cages, when the cages
get detached, as shown in Figure 1. There
are reported cases of someone who appear
at the scene and unaware of one worker be-
ing inside, closes the door and admit steam
into the steriliser. The very thought of the
plight of the worker when steam at 142°C
envelopes him is disturbing. Even if such
incidences may be far flung it should never
be allowed even once and the only way is to
have the following precautionary measures
professionally executed.
• Issuance of a permit to work (PTW) al-
lowing a worker to go inside the steri-
liser with his name clearly written in
the permit;
• Locking up the steriliser control switch
board after removing the fuses to cut
off the electrical supply to the steriliser
control unit;
• Placing a danger board on the control
panel;
• Steriliser door to be kept in open posi-
tion and locked in that position with a

chain and pad lock so that no one can
close it;
• A sign board to be hung on the door
with the words ‘Worker inside. Do not
close’even if it is for a short time the
procedure must be followed to safe-
guard a man’s life; and
• Similar system must be used for any
emergency conveyor maintenance
that need to be done after starting the
mill processing.
PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 110
Feature Article
DANGER BOARDS
This is generally written in the language
used by the workers. If most of the workers
are Bangladeshis then it is logical to get the
signage in their language as the idea is to
communicate as easily as possible. It is no
use writing in English if they cannot read or
understand English.
In the next issue, we shall discuss the
PTW in more detail.
13
Feature Article
Lubrication Management for Reduced
Contamination and Increased Productivity
Esther Liew*
L
INTRODUCTION
ubrication plays a vital role in ma-
chinery maintenance but most of the
palm oil mills generally rely on un-
skilled workers to carry out this vital task
with almost no guidance or proper training
given to the persons handling the actual
job. This article was written in response to
a paper from SKF on the role of lubrica-
tion management and has been specifically
adopted for the Palm Oil Engineering Bulle-
tin for the benefit of the industry.
‘At best’, poor lubrication causes ma-
chine downtime; ‘at worst’ it contaminates
final product, leading to rejected deliveries
and therefore lost business. This article ex-
plains how better lubrication management
practices can save money and increase pro-
ductivity by preventing contamination of
the lubricant, as well as the final product.
A lot of money can be lost when palm oil
shipments are rejected because they have
been contaminated by mineral oil.
* SKF Malaysia Sdn Bhd., MY-432 Jalan Ipoh,
51200 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
E-mail: esther.liew@skf.com
PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 110
“Today, all major countries make checks
for mineral lubricating oil contamination of
imported palm oil and if traces are found
then the oil will be rejected,” explains Janne
Lundgren, SKF Food and Beverage Seg-
ment Manager for Asia Pacific.
It is not only the final product that can
have an impact from faulty lubricant prac-
tices but also in the other process stages
(Figure 1).
There are many sources of potential con-
tamination that have to be overcome in the
palm oil industry. For example, large hy-
draulic systems for screw presses can leak
considerable quantities of oil into palm
oil through over-lubrication of bearings
and chains due to seal failures caused by
the harsh industrial environment – an addi-
tional cause of potential contamination.
“To prevent product contamination and
machine downtime, one of the areas with
major impact is proper lubrication manage-
ment,” says Alain Noordover, SKF Main-
tenance Products, Netherlands. “This will
also improve productivity, which means
plants can achieve more production from
existing capacity”.
15
 Feature Article
Failure modes
Frequancy of occurrence
Figure 1.
FROM LUBRICATION TO
LUBRICATION MANAGEMENT –
THE 5R APPROACH
A good lubrication programme can be de-
fined by applying the 5R approach:
“The right lubricant, in the right amount,
reaches the right point at the right time us-
ing the right method”. This simple and logi-
cal approach, however, requires a detailed
action plan, while a structured process can
enhance the benefits.
How Can a Structured
Lubrication Management
Programme Help the Palm Oil
Industry Reduce Traces of
Mineral Oil in Palm Oil?
SKF lubrication management process:
• SKF client needs analysis lubrication
management;
• SKF lubrication audit;
• Improvement proposal;
• design and implementation; and
• optimisation.
The starting point is to perform a first
assessment to ascertain main goals and
concerns. The output is an appraisal of the
16
PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 110
lubrication programme’s maturity level
as well as an identification of the main
strengths and areas with major opportuni-
ties for improvement.
SKF Client Needs Analysis Lubrication
Management
The second step is to evaluate the under-
lying weaknesses. This requires a detailed
assessment of lubrication practices. A SKF
lubrication audit is conducted mostly on
the plant floor, requiring the involvement of
the team in charge of lubrication. The audit
questionnaire is structured to cover the dif-
ferent aspects of a lubrication programme.
SKF Lubrication Audit
Here are some of the most important
ones:
Lubricant delivery, storage and handling.
• Does the lubrication storage room pro-
vide a clean and safe environment for
the lubricants?
• Lubricants can become unusable if in-
correctly stored in a contaminated or a
hot environment. For example, grease

can harden or soften beyond the limits
required in these situations; it can also
oxidise or be subject to excessive oil
separation. Moreover, food grade lu-
bricants (e.g. NSF H1 certified) should
be stored in separate locations from
the non-food grades to avoid mixtures
or later misapplications of lubricants.
Lubricant selection.
• Is there a structured selection and con-
solidation process to optimise both the
lubricants for the application and the
inventory? Have food grade oils been
considered as replacement for mineral
oil, in areas with highest contamina-
tion risk of final product?
Lubricant application.
• How is it ensured that only the right
lubricant is being supplied in the right
way at the right point?
It is important to minimise the likelihood
of oil/grease spills and contamination
during the lubrication process and to apply
the correct lubricant in the correct way. The
time interval between each application of
lubricant can also have a dramatic effect
on the efficiency of the system, as can the
volume of lubricant applied (Figure 2).
Figure 2. Impact of excess lubrication.
PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 110
Feature Article
Lubricant contamination and condition
control.
• How is the monitoring, removal and
control of lubricant contamination
handled?
Lubrication programme management and
personnel development.
• Is there a structured and consistent
process to execute and follow up lu-
brication tasks? Does it include key
performance indicators, training and
constant improvement goals?
Lubrication practices standardisation.
• Are all procedures properly docu-
mented, implemented and kept updat-
ed?
Environmental, health and safety (EHS)
practices.
• Are EHS regulations considered in the
lubrication programme?
Automatic lubrication system practices.
• Is the plant taking full advantage of
available technologies to optimise ma-
chinery lubrication conditions?
The output of an SKF lubrication au-
dit is a comprehensive report of current
lubrication programme and its efficiency.
It includes a detailed list of strengths and
improvement opportunities along with a
series of recommendations. It can also in-
clude a calculation of the potential financial
benefits in improving the lubrication pro-
gramme.
Once a complete diagnosis has been es-
tablished and improvement opportunities
have been identified, the third step is to cre-
ate specific activities that can be undertaken
to improve the lubrication programme.
17
 Feature Article
Improvement Proposal
Typical proposals might include, but are
not limited to:
• lubricants selection and consolidation;
• lubrication routines design: tasks, in-
spections, lubrication cards;
• storage room design;
• colour coding implementation: tools
and lubrication points;
• oil analysis programme design;
• contamination control programme;
• standard procedures generation;
• training; and
• centralised lubrication systems.
The fourth step is to design and imple-
ment an action plan. SKF can offer support
by providing a range of maintenance tools
and services: from consultancy to guiding
the actual execution of a given activity, to
training programmes and more.
Design and Implementation
The fifth step concerns the evolution of
the programme, which is measured through
the use of key performance indicators. It
18
PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 110
is important to determine any required
adjustments and periodic reassessments
which will provide insights into the overall
evolution of the programme.
Optimisation
By implementing this structured, pro-
cess palm oil plants can reduce the risk of
product contamination, whilst improving
machinery efficiency and uptime. This
means less rejection of palm oil shipments,
more production from existing capacity and
maximised profits.
In addition to lubrication management
expertise, SKF has a unique understanding
of rotating equipment and how machine
components and industrial processes are
interrelated, in every major industry world-
wide – including the palm oil industry. This
knowledge – coupled with its expertise in
sealing solutions, lubrication systems, lin-
ear motion, machinery maintenance, power
transmission, mechatronics, and services
– enables SKF to deliver real-world solu-
tions that help maximise mechanical perfor-
mance over the entire life cycle of an asset.
Feature Article
Declining Trends in Oil Extraction Rate (OER): Are
We Facing an Impasse?
N Ravi Menon*
A
INTRODUCTION
re we facing an impasse in our
drive for an increase in productiv-
ity? All the efforts taken to ensure
that only good quality crop is delivered
to the mill do not seem to have made any
significant impact in achieving the goals.
There are limitations in what human be-
ings can do as many contributing factors for
increased production are beyond human
control. While oil loss, harvesting ripe crop
and trash control are manageable by hu-
man effort, climatic conditions, weevil ac-
tivity, inflorescence sex ratio etc. fall under
the domain of mother nature, where we
have little control. Many papers have been
presented on all the possible areas where
oil losses can take place leading eventually
to a decline in the oil extraction rate (OER).
They were written by different authors rep-
resenting different plantation agencies and
as a result they were not fully integrated to
give the operational people a holistic view
for them to effectively enforce them. The
agronomists, planters and millers often pre-
sent their views from different angles that
may confuse the owners or the Chief Ex-
* Malaysian Palm Oil Board, 6 Persiaran Institusi,
Bandar Baru Bangi, 43000 Kajang, Selangor, Malaysia.
E-mail: nravi@mpob.gov.my
PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 110
ecutive Officers (CEO) of companies who
would be unable to make the right deci-
sion to benefit the company as a whole.
In our enthusiasm to achieve a continu-
ous increase in the OER, we have over-
looked certain environmental factors that
will not permit us to follow our vision-
based direction. This can be achieved pro-
vided ideal conditions prevail in all quar-
ters and mother nature is obedient to our
biddings. This article intends to review as
much information as possible from differ-
ent sources in order to generate a platform
for making focused decisions (MFD) so
that palm oil productivity may hopefully
increase to meet the desired targets.
REVIEW OF PUBLISHED PAPERS
Our focus thus far has been on the efficien-
cy of field activities and milling as contrib-
uting factors for the decline in the mill oil
extraction rates. These two components
have played such an important role in
OER, that other factors have been virtu-
ally ignored and have became non-existent.
Some of the comments of the researchers
are reviewed here.
• Hor (1996) commented that the bunch-
es had lower oil contents and that low
19
 Feature Article
oil content and the low OER could not
be blamed on poor oil recoveries as a
result of declines in field and mill effi-
ciencies. According to Ng (1993), there
is nothing seriously wrong with the
mills or the supplying estates to bring
about a drastic decline in OER based on
his studies in Kumpulan Guthrie.
• The impact of fertiliser application is
usually limited to crop yields and is sel-
dom linked to the oil content but Wood
(1978) in the two trials he conducted
in Malaysia observed that potassium
chloride fertiliser treatments depressed
oil-to-bunch ratios on inland soils. This
was confirmed by Foster et al. (1987) in
a trail conducted in Papua New Guin-
ea. Similar depression of oil-to-bunch
was reported by Green (1976) based on
a trial conducted in Zaire (now known
as the Democratic Republic of Congo)
when using potassium chloride as well
as magnesium chloride. However on
coastal soils, the reverse was true. The
potassium chloride increased the oil-to-
bunch ratios!
• According to the observation by Ng
(1993), moisture plays a very impor-
tant role in depressing OER. As can be
expected, a 5% increase or decrease in
moisture content in fresh fruit bunch
(FFB) can either depress or increase the
mill OER. On rainy days, the mill OER
will be easily depressed by 1%. In cases
of this nature, there should be a provi-
sion to incorporate a FFB correction
factor to eliminate the error due to the
additional moisture content caused by
the rain. This is a gain by the estate but
a loss for the mill. For private mills, the
bunch moisture content can be artifi-
cially created by the dealer by spraying
water comparable to that of a rainy day.
In addition, the moisture in the bunch
could also serve as an adhering base
for sand on the bunch. The impact of
moisture is clearly illustrated in Table 1.
20
PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 110
Ozone concentrations caused by vehi-
cle exhausts and other industrial activities
and excess sunshine in even unpolluted
areas were reported to be 5 to 10 times
that of the levels prevailing about a cen-
tury ago. Ozone has many quantitative and
qualitative effects on plant lipids. Higher
concentrations can cause membrane degra-
dation, catabolism of membrane lipids and
fatty acid oxidation. Acute exposure to high
ozone can reduce normal chloroplast and
increase the accumulation of triacylglyc-
erol (Sakakai et al., 1990). With the above
evidence, Harwood (1996) was convinced
that ozone has the potential of reducing
agricultural production significantly. As the
vehicle emissions are not likely to diminish
with the passage of time, we may expect a
gradual rise in the concentration of ground
level ozone from the average 100 parts per
billion (ppb) now to perhaps more than 200
ppb. Currently, the specific impact of ozone
on oil palm crop yields has not been inves-
tigated.
Excessive rain and the resulting wa-
ter logging can cause oxygen starvation to
palms producing toxic effects, according to
Harwood (1995).
Harwood (1989) and Maksymiec et al.
(1992) also observed that the heavy met-
als like copper, cadmium or nickel can also
contribute towards suppression of fatty
acid de-saturation. In oil palm plantations,
where intercropping with pineapple is car-
ried out, the use of copper sulphate and its
toxic effect on the palms may have to be
monitored closely.
Several fungicides have been proven to
affect lipid metabolism. If herbicides are
used near oil palms, they are likely to cause
adverse effects on yield or quality. In such
cases, Harwood (1996) cautions the indis-
criminate use of herbicides as it may play a
role on oil quality if not the yield.
Rajanaidu et al. (1996) in a trail conduct-
ed on the bunch weight and its influence on

TABLE 1. FRESH FRUIT BUNCH MOISTURE EFFECT ON OIL EXTRACTION RATE
Parameters
Fresh fruit bunch (t)
Moisture loss on sterilisation (%)
Sterilised fruit bunches (t)
Oil recovered (t)
Oil extraction rate
bunch components noted that there was
an increase in all bunch components except
the mesocarp to fruit ratio which decreased
with the bunch weight. He observed that
the adequate pollination by weevils, could
have produced compact bunches with in-
sufficient space for the inner fruits to devel-
op their mesocarp.
Chin et al. (1996) observed that there is a
declining trend in mean fruit weight (MFW)
and also an increasing trend for the estimat-
ed number of fruits per bunch. Observations
did not suggest any declining trend in the
percentage oil-to-bunch but the fruit weight
reduced from 12 - 16 g to 7 - 11 g.
Problems associated with pollination
has been a much discussed topic, especial-
ly with the voluntary assistance offered by
weevils.
• Turner and Gillbanks (2003) after their
detailed investigation in the oil palm
growing countries, have highlighted
some aspects of the adverse impact of
the prevailing weevil (Elaeidobius ka-
merunicus Faust) pollination despite its
major benefits.
• According to Henson (1996), pollination
is the most critical ‘environmental‘ fac-
tor affecting O/B and K/B and as such
extra vigilance is recommended. He
also warned that the sex ratio must be
kept low. Periodic poor pollination re-
sults in poor fruit set containing a sig-
nificant percentage of parthenocarpic
Feature Article
Dry day Normal day Wet day
95.0 100.0 105.0
8.4 13.0 17.1
87.0 87.0 87.0
20.0 20.0 20.0
21.0 20.0 19.0
fruits that will drastically reduce the
mill OER. Fruit growth can still take
place without fertilisation, but the re-
sulting parthenocarpic fruits will not at-
tain the normal healthy fruit size but the
dry matter and the oil content in such
fruit will be very low.
• Apart from the pollination inefficiency,
the vapour of the herbicide picloram
can also induce parthenocarpic fruit
sets in bunches (Turner and Gillbank,
2003).
• Low male inflorescence will invariably
cause the decline in the population of
weevils, as they are completely depend-
ent on male inflorescence for their life
cycle. New replants without the older
palms in the vicinity are subjected to
a low male to female inflorescence ra-
tio of below 10% in which case, the
likelihood of poor fruit set is high. If the
weather conditions are unfavourable, it
is possible to even have zero male in-
florescence and in such situations the
productivity will decline significantly.
Such bunches most likely may be mis-
taken for unripe bunches. There will
be a large number of unfertilised ova-
ries in partially pollinated inflorescence
brought about by rains that restrict wee-
vil activities.
• Another problem is the possible decline
of the weevil population caused by the
annihilation of weevil larvae by rats,
and the adults by birds and frogs, even
see page 29
PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 110 21

from page 21
though its impact has not been reported
as significant enough to have a drastic
impact on its population. But it can add
on to the other adverse conditions af-
fecting productivity.
• The rats feeding on the weevils are like-
ly to increase its population. Rats are re-
ported to be responsible for a crop loss
of 10% of the loose fruits in a field, pro-
ducing 25 t FFB ha-1 according to Liau
(1990). This is significant, as a loss of
2.5 t ha-1 on a 5000 ha estate is 12 500 t of
crop per year, worth RM 7.5 million at a
FFB price of RM 600 per tonne.
• Floral abortion believed to be due to
earlier drought will reduce the devel-
opment of inflorescence and eventu-
ally also influence the sex ratio in young
palms.
In Costa Rica, it was reported by Sterling
et al. (1996) that between 1990 to 1995 the
fruit-to-bunch ratio dropped significantly
due to a drop in the population of pollinat-
ing weevil that resulted in low fruit set val-
ue. This same scenario may be applicable to
Malaysia now.
According to Sterling et al. (1996), the
yearly variations in solar radiation and
rainfall distribution will also change the oil
content in the mesocarp.
After conducting extensive investiga-
tions on declining OER, Lim et al. (1996)
concluded that there were no significant
changes in the oil content in the bunch dur-
ing the monitoring period. They suggested
that the declining OER can be addressed
by improving the management standards
in all aspects of harvesting and crop qual-
ity. Although their conclusion has its mer-
its, other factors such as weather patterns,
weevil inactivity, declining weevil popula-
tion and the unfavourable sex ratio of inflo-
PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 110
Feature Article
rescence, which have a profound influence
on fruit-to-bunch ratios seem to have been
overlooked.
The trash content in FFB is one of the
major contributors of low OER in mills but
the trash content can be eliminated. A 10%
trash in the FFB consignment will cause a
decline of OER by 2.2%. In FFB consign-
ment of 1000 t containing 10% (or 100 t
trash) the oil produced is 200 t. The declared
OER will be 20%, but the actual OER based
on the FFB weight of 900 t will be (200/900)
x 100 = 22.22% boosting the OER by 2.22%.
If a plantation can actually reduce the
trash content in its consignment, then the
mill OER will experience a welcome boost.
The other quality boosters are long stalks,
empty fruits and unripe bunches.
Loose fruit collections do not seem to be
getting the attention they deserve. This is
a controllable loss. Gan et al. (1993) have
demonstrated that a loss of 20 loose fruits
per bunch from 6 to 15 years old palms can
reduce the mill OER by 0.46%. If 100 fruits
per bunch are uncollected, the OER depres-
sion will be 2.3%. This is a very significant
contributor of declining OER. The shortage
of labour is considered to be one of the fac-
tors.
Water deficit can also play a major role
in lower yields as can be seen in Table 2 by
Corley and Hong (1982).
Milling losses as compiled by Ng (1993)
are given in Table 3.
The mill losses in general range from
1.5% to about 2.0%. If the target for the
losses is 1.77%, and if a mill which has a
process loss of 2.0%, it means that the loss
exceeded the target by only 0.23%. This,
compared to the trash and loose fruit con-
tribution is 2.22 % + 2.3% = 4.45%, or 19
times more than the difference between the
mill target and its actual losses. Now this is
something worth pondering upon.
29
 Feature Article

TABLE 2. THE EFFECT OF IRRIGATION ON FRESH FRUIT BUNCH (FFB) YIELD

AND BUNCH COMPONENTS IN MALAYSIA

FFB Oil/WM Oil/DM Oil/bunch PO yield

Treatment
(t ha-1 yr-1) (%) (%) (%) (t ha-1 yr-1)
Control 24.72 48.51 74.53 25.25 6.24
Irrigated 25.32 49.93 75.28 26.05 6.60
% gain 2.4 2.9 1.0 3.2 5.8

Note: WM – wet mesocarp. DM – dry matter. PO – palm oil.

TABLE 3. APPROXIMATE OIL LOSS IN PALM OIL MILLS

% on loss/fresh
Source
fruit bunch
Fruit trapped in empty bunches (EFB) 0.02
Unstripped bunches (USB) 0.05
Oil absorbed on the surface of EFB 0.45
Condensate from sterilisation 0.10
Nut surface after pressing 0.05

Fibre after pressing 0.55

Sludge from the separators 0.45

General oil spillages or washing from tanks 0.10

Total milling losses 1.77

REFERENCES FOSTER, H L; TARMIZI, A M; MOHD

CHIN, C W; FOOG, S F and MOHD, H M
S (1996). FFB. Production, oil and kernel
yields over a 14-year period for Felda’s ly-
semeter and two surrounding palms. Proc.
of the 1996 International Conference on Oil and
Kernel Production in Oil Palm - A Global Per-
spective (N Rajanaidu, N; Henson, I E and
Jalani, B S eds.). PORIM, Bangi. p. 55-77.
CORLEY, R H V and HONG, T K (1982).
Irrigation of oil palm in Malaysia. The Oil
Palm in Malaysia in the Eightees (Pushparajah
and Chew, P S eds.). Volume 11. Incorpo-
rated Society of Planters Malaysia, Kuala
Lumpur. p. 343-356.
TAYEB, D and HALIM, A H (1986). Ferti-
lisation recommendation for oil palm in
Peninsular Malaysia (first approximation).
PORIM Technology No. 13: 42.
GAN, L T; HO, C Y; CHEW, J S and LAN,
K S (1993). Effects of harvesting practices in
oil extraction rate. Proc. of the National Semi-
nar on Palm Oil Extraction Rate: Problems and
Issues (Ariffin Darus and Jalani, B S eds.).
PORIM, Bangi. p. 68-75.
GREEN, A H (1976). Field experiments
as a guide to fertilizer practice. Oil Palm
Research (Corley, R H V; Hardon, J J and

30
PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 110

Wood, B J eds.). Elsevier Press, Amster-
dam. p. 235-256.
HARWOOD, J L (1996). Environmental fac-
tors that can affect lipid synthesis. Proc. of
the 1996 International Conference on Oil and
Kernel Production in Oil Palm - A Global Per-
spective (Rajanaidu, N; Henson, I E and
Jalani, B S eds.). PORIM, Bangi. p. 1-18.
HARWOOD, J L (1988). Annual review
plant physiology. Plant Molecular Biology,
39: 101-138.
HARWOOD, J L (1995). Plant Lipid Metab-
olism (Kader, J C and Mazliaka, P eds.). p.
361-368.
HOR, T Y; SOH, A C; CHAN, K S; CHEW, P
S and GOH, K J (1996). Studies on oil palm
bunch characteristic effects on oil extraction
ratio. Proc. of the 1996 International
Conference on Oil and Kernel Production in Oil
Palm - A Global Perspective (Rajanaidu, N;
Henson, I E and Jalani, B S eds.). PORIM,
Bangi. p. 229-236.
LIAU, S S (1990). Rat population in oil palm
replant and crop loss assessment. Proc. of
rd
the 3 International Conference on Crop Protec-
tion in Tropics. Vol. IV. p. 8-18.
LIM, K C and CHAN, K W (1996). Bunch
component studies over the past two
decades. Proc. of the 1996 International
Conference on Oil and Kernel Production in Oil
Palm - A Global Perspective (Rajanaidu, N;
Henson, I E and Jalani, B S eds.). PORIM,
Bangi. p. 133-150.
MAKSYMIEC, W; RUSSIA, R; URBANIC-
SYPNIEWSKA and BASZYNSKI, T (1992).
Effect of excess Cu on the photosynthetic
PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 110
Feature Article
apparatus of runner bean leaf treated at
two different growth stages. J. Plant Physiol:
14052-14055.
NG, S B (1993). Measurement of oil extrac-
tion ratio and milling losses. Proc. of the
National Seminar on Palm Oil Extraction Rate:
Problems and Issues (Ariffin Darus and Jala-
ni, B S eds.). PORIM, Bangi. p. 99-109.
RAJANAIDU, M; AHMAD KUSHAIRI
DIN and JALANI, B S (1996). Variation for
oil and kernel to bunch and total economic
product in oil palm germplasm and breed-
ing materials Proc. of the 1996 International
Conference on Oil and Kernel Production in Oil
Palm - A Global Perspective (Rajanaidu, N;
Henson, I E and Jalani, B S eds.). PORIM,
Bangi. p. 19-35.
SAKAKAI, T; SAITO, K; KAWAGUCHI,
A; KONDON, N and YAMADA, M (1990).
Role of ozone on plant lipids. Plant Physiol,
94: 766-772.
STERLING, F; MONTOYA, C and ALVA-
NADO, A (1996). Variance of some bunch
components with palm age and climatic
condition in Coto, Costa Rica. Proc. of the
1996 International Conference on Oil and Ker-
nel Production in Oil Palm - A Global Perspec-
tive (Rajanaidu, N; Henson, I E and Jalani,
B S eds.). PORIM, Bangi. p. 121-127.
TURNER, P D and GILLBANKS, R A (2003).
Biological aspects of growth and yield. Oil
Palm Cultivation and Management Text Book.
p. 17, 18 and 20.
WOOD, B J (1998). Research in relation to
natural sources - oil palm. The Planter, 54:
414-442.
31
Datasheet

Ready Reckoner for Engineers

Saturation Temperatures of Steam without using Tables

A B C D Actual value F G Approx.
Pressure 1st SQRT 2nd SQRT 100 x steam tab deviation Error as % correction
bar(a) of A of A C (oC) of actual factor +/-

1 1.00 1.00 100.0 99.6 -0.4 -0.40 0.083333
2 1.41 1.19 118.9 120.2 1.3 1.06 0.083333
3 1.73 1.32 131.6 133.5 1.9 1.42 0.083333
4 2.00 1.41 141.4 143.6 2.2 1.52 0.083333
5 2.24 1.50 149.5 151.8 2.3 1.49 0.083333
6 2.45 1.57 156.5 158.8 2.3 1.44 0.083333
7 2.65 1.63 162.7 165.0 2.3 1.42 0.083333
8 2.83 1.68 168.2 170.4 2.2 1.30 0.083333
9 3.00 1.73 173.2 174.4 1.2 0.69 0.083333
10 3.16 1.78 177.8 179.9 2.1 1.15 0.083333
11 3.32 1.82 182.1 184.1 2.0 1.08 0.083333
12 3.46 1.86 186.1 188.0 1.9 1.00 0.083333
13 3.61 1.90 189.9 191.6 1.7 0.90 0.083333
14 3.74 1.93 193.4 195.0 1.6 0.80 0.083333
15 3.87 1.97 196.8 198.3 1.5 0.76 0.083333
16 4.00 2.00 200.0 201.4 1.4 0.70 0.083333
17 4.12 2.03 203.1 204.3 1.2 0.61 0.083333
18 4.24 2.06 206.0 207.1 1.1 0.54 0.083333
19 4.36 2.09 208.8 209.8 1.0 0.49 0.083333
20 4.47 2.11 211.5 212.4 0.9 0.44 0.083333
21 4.58 2.14 214.1 214.8 0.7 0.34 0.083333
22 4.69 2.17 216.6 217.2 0.6 0.29 0.083333
23 4.80 2.19 219.0 219.5 0.5 0.23 0.083333
24 4.90 2.21 221.3 221.8 0.5 0.21 0.083333
25 5.00 2.24 223.6 223.9 0.3 0.13 0.083333
26 5.10 2.26 225.8 226.0 0.2 0.08 0.083333
27 5.20 2.28 228.0 228.0 0.0 0.02 0.083333
28 5.29 2.30 230.0 230.0 0.0 -0.01 0.083333
29 5.39 2.32 232.1 231.9 -0.2 -0.07 0.083333
30 5.48 2.34 234.0 233.8 -0.2 -0.10 0.083333
31 5.57 2.36 236.0 235.6 -0.4 -0.15 0.083333
32 5.66 2.38 237.8 237.4 -0.4 -0.19 0.083333
33 5.74 2.40 239.7 239.2 -0.5 -0.22 0.083333
34 5.83 2.41 241.5 240.9 -0.6 -0.24 0.083333
35 5.92 2.43 243.2 242.6 -0.7 -0.28 0.083333
36 6.00 2.45 244.9 244.2 -0.7 18.44 0.083333

Total 30.80 3.00

Deviation range: -0.7 to 2.3= 3 3.0/36= 0.08333

Note: SQRT - square root.
Saturation temperature of steam is roughly equivalent to the 2nd square root of the absolute.
Steam pressure multilplied by 100 (close enough as a rough guide).

Source: Ir G Achuthan Nair, PT Tolan Tiga, Medan, Indonesia.

PALM OIL ENGINEERING BULLETIN NO. 110 35

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